Memoirs [Hardcover]

Andrei Gromyko (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1990

Andrei Gromyko has held high office in the Soviet government for more than 50 years, serving under every leader from Stalin to Gorbachev. As his country's Foreign Minister, he met and negotiated with almost every world leader. His memoirs describe the intrigues of power-politics behind the scenes in the Kremlin, and the characters and events which have dominated his political life. They provide unprecented insight into half a century of Soviet and world politics. We learn of Gromyko's upbringing in a small village far from the main cities, of his academic prominence and courtship of his wife, Lidia Grinevich. We see him, already in 1939, as ambassador to Washington, then in Yalta alongside Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt. The book provides portraits of all his leading political contemporaries, and revelations, such as the time Chairman Mao asked for Soviet support for an atomic bombing of American forces.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

These memoirs give us a glimpse of a figure who has until now seemed little more than a rather cardboard, archetypal Soviet politician. Gromyko, who died in July 1989, tells of his early years in a small Russian village; his experience in the traumatic Russian Civil War; and his steady rise to the top (foreign minister for over half a century) of the Soviet political hierarchy. He also renders portraits of the century's most fascinating personalities, ranging from Richard Nixon to Charlie Chaplin. His personal views of Stalin, presented in a separate chapter, shed no new light on the dictator, but are significant given their source--a Soviet statesman who devoted his public life to the state Stalin created. This book will interest students of U.S.-Soviet relations and political leadership in the Soviet Union.
-Kim H. Tunnicliff, Albion Coll., Mich.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Russian

Product Details

• Hardcover: 414 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1st edition (February 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385412886
• ISBN-13: 978-0385412889
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #999,011 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sketches Take The Place Of Statecraft, June 8, 2008

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This review is from: Memories (Hardcover)

For a half-century, Andrei Gromyko served the Soviet political machine as an Ambassador, Deputy Foreign Minister, Foreign Minister and President.

This is essentially a second edition of his memoirs; as the first issue, a 1988 Russian edition, was published in two volumes. Very little material appears in both editions.

Relying heavily on sketches of political figures and entertainers he met over the many years, the book falls well short of delving into the major issues surrounding World War II and the Cold War. And it is a bit ironic that Gromyko passed away shortly after completing what would be the final chapter in the book, More About Stalin.

But the book remains an important piece in studying Soviet history, simply because of who is the author. Though besides some biting quips on individuals, Gromyko breezes through the vital factors of Soviet statecraft through an oftentimes unconvincing party line.